2020–21 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 11th-year head coach Fran McCaffery and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes finished the season 22–9, 14–6 in Big Ten play to finish in third place. They defeated Wisconsin in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Illinois in the semifinals. The Hawkeyes received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the West region. They defeated Grand Canyon in the First Round before losing to Oregon in the Second Round, ending their chances at their first Sweet Sixteen since 1999.

2020–21 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 8
Record	22–9 (14–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Fran McCaffery (11th season)
Assistant coaches	Sherman Dillard Kirk Speraw Billy Taylor
Home arena	Carver–Hawkeye Arena
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 Michigan	14	–	3		.824			23	–	5		.821
No. 2 Illinois †	16	–	4		.800			24	–	7		.774
No. 8 Iowa	14	–	6		.700			22	–	9		.710
No. 20 Purdue	13	–	6		.684			18	–	10		.643
No. 7 Ohio State	12	–	8		.600			21	–	10		.677
Wisconsin	10	–	10		.500			18	–	13		.581
Rutgers	10	–	10		.500			16	–	12		.571
Maryland	9	–	11		.450			17	–	14		.548
Michigan State	9	–	11		.450			15	–	13		.536
Indiana	7	–	12		.368			12	–	15		.444
Penn State	7	–	12		.368			11	–	14		.440
Northwestern	6	–	13		.316			9	–	15		.375
Minnesota	6	–	14		.300			14	–	15		.483
Nebraska	3	–	16		.158			7	–	20		.259
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Senior center Luka Garza was named Big Ten Player of the Year^[1] and a consensus All-American for the second consecutive season. He was also named the consensus National Player of the Year and ended his career with a school-record 2,306 points (7th in Big Ten history). Senior guard Jordan Bohannon ended the season with school-records of 639 assists and 364 3-point field goals (2nd in Big Ten history).

Previous season

The Hawkeyes finished the 2019–20 season 20–11, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in four-way tie for fifth place. Their season ended when postseason tournaments including the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[2]

Forward Luka Garza was named Big Ten Player of the Year^[3] and was a consensus All-American.^[4]

Offseason

Returning players

Junior forward Luke Garza announced on April 10 that he would declare for the NBA draft, but retain his eligibility.^[5] On August 2, Garza withdrew his name from the draft and announced he would return to Iowa for his senior season.^[6]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Bakari Evelyn	4	G	6'2"	180	Graduate Student	Detroit, MI	Completed college eligibility^[a]
Ryan Kriener	15	F	6'9"	255	Senior	Spirit Lake, IA	Graduated
Riley Till	20	F	6'7"	205	RS Junior	Dubuque, IA	Graduate transferred to Cal Poly
Cordell Pemsl	35	F	6'8"	230	RS Junior	Dubuque, IA	Graduate transferred to Virginia Tech

1. Evelyn was a graduate transfer in the 2019–20 season, having graduated from Valparaiso in 2019.

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Keegan Murray SF	Cedar Rapids, IA	DME Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Oct 21, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Kris Murray SF	Cedar Rapids, IA	DME Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Oct 21, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Josh Ogundele C	Worcester, MA	Worcester Academy	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	N/A	Nov 13, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:
Tony Perkins SG	Indianapolis, IN	Lawrence North	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Oct 20, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:
Ahron Ulis PG	Chicago Heights, IL	Marian Catholic	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Aug 6, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 63
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Iowa Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "ESPN - Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "Iowa 2020 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.

Roster

2020–21 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Michael Baer (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Bettendorf HS Bettendorf, IA G 1 Joe Toussaint 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Cardinal Hayes HS Bronx, NY F 2 Jack Nunge   6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS So Castle HS Newburgh, IN G 3 Jordan Bohannon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Linn-Mar HS Marion, IA G 4 Ahron Uhlis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Marian Catholic HS Chicago, IL G 5 CJ Fredrick 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Covington Catholic HS Cincinnati, OH G/F 10 Joe Wieskamp 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Jr Muscatine HS Muscatine, IA G 11 Tony Perkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Lawrence North HS Indianapolis, IN G 13 Austin Ash (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 179 lb (81 kg) RS Jr Mount Vernon HS Cedar Rapids, IA F 15 Keegan Murray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Prairie HS/DME Sports Academy Cedar Rapids, IA F 20 Kris Murray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Prairie HS/DME Sports Academy Cedar Rapids, IA F 22 Patrick McCaffery 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Iowa City West HS Iowa City, IA C 23 Josh Ogundele 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 285 lb (129 kg) Fr Worcester Academy London, EN G/F 30 Connor McCaffery 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Iowa City West HS Iowa City, IA C 55 Luka Garza 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Sr Maret School Washington, D.C.	Head coach Fran McCaffery (Penn) Assistant coach(es) Sherman Dillard (James Madison) Kirk Speraw (Iowa) Billy Taylor (Notre Dame) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

On September 16, 2020, the NCAA announced that the start of the season would be pushed back to November 25 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[7]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 3:00 p.m., BTN	No. 5	NC Central	W 97–67^[8]	1–0	26 – Garza	10 – Garza	4 – C. McCaffery	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (535) Iowa City, IA
November 27, 2020* 4:00 p.m., BTN	No. 5	Southern	W 103–76^[9]	2–0	41 – Garza	9 – Garza	7 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (535) Iowa City, IA
December 3, 2020* 7:00 p.m., BTN	No. 3	Western Illinois	W 99–58^[10]	3–0	35 – Garza	10 – Garza	6 – C. McCaffery	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (543) Iowa City, IA
December 8, 2020* 6:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 3	No. 16 North Carolina ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 93–80^[11]	4–0	24 – Bohannon	14 – Garza	6 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (583) Iowa City, IA
December 11, 2020* 8:00 p.m., BTN	No. 3	Iowa State Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series	W 105–77^[12]	5–0	34 – Garza	10 – Nunge	7 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (560) Iowa City, IA
December 13, 2020* 1:00 p.m., FS1	No. 3	Northern Illinois	W 106–53^[13]	6–0	23 – Garza	8 – Tied	7 – C. McCaffery	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (546) Iowa City, IA
December 19, 2020 11:00 a.m., CBS	No. 3	vs. No. 1 Gonzaga	L 88–99^[14]	6–1	30 – Garza	10 – Garza	4 – Wieskamp	Sanford Pentagon (243) Sioux Falls, SD
December 22, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN	No. 4	Purdue	W 70–55^[15]	7–1 (1–0)	22 – Garza	9 – Tied	6 – C. McCaffery	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (536) Iowa City, IA
December 25, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN	No. 4	at Minnesota	L 95–102 ^OT[16]	7–2 (1–1)	32 – Garza	17 – Garza	6 – C. McCaffery	Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN
December 29, 2020 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 10	No. 19 Northwestern	W 87–72^[17]	8–2 (2–1)	24 – Bohannon	6 – Garza	5 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (464) Iowa City, IA
January 2, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 10	at No. 14 Rutgers	W 77–75^[18]	9–2 (3–1)	25 – Garza	9 – Murray	4 – Tied	Louis Brown Athletic Center (0) Piscataway, NJ
January 7, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 5	at Maryland	W 89–67^[19]	10–2 (4–1)	24 – Garza	7 – Garza	10 – C. McCaffery	Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD
January 10, 2021 1:30 pm, BTN	No. 5	No. 16 Minnesota	W 86–71^[20]	11–2 (5–1)	33 – Garza	10 – Nunge	14 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (569) Iowa City, IA
January 17, 2021 11:00 a.m., CBS	No. 5	at Northwestern	W 96–73^[21]	12–2 (6–1)	17 – Garza	10 – Garza	4 – Tied	Welsh-Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL
January 21, 2021 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 4	Indiana	L 69–81^[22]	12–3 (6–2)	28 – Garza	12 – Tied	4 – C. McCaffrey	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (566) Iowa City, IA
January 29, 2021 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 7	at No. 19 Illinois Rivalry	L 75–80^[23]	12–4 (6–3)	19 – Tied	8 – Murray	5 – Tied	State Farm Center (190) Champaign, IL
February 2, 2021 6:00 p.m., FS1	No. 8	Michigan State	W 84–78^[24]	13–4 (7–3)	27 – Garza	12 – Garza	6 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (557) Iowa City, IA
February 4, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 8	No. 7 Ohio State	L 85–89^[25]	13–5 (7–4)	18 – Tied	10 – Wieskamp	6 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (503) Iowa City, IA
February 7, 2021 11:00 a.m., FOX	No. 8	at Indiana	L 65–67^[26]	13–6 (7–5)	18 – Tied	8 – Wieskamp	2 – Bohannon	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN
February 10, 2021 6:30 p.m., BTN	No. 15	No. 25 Rutgers	W 79–66^[27]	14–6 (8–5)	26 – Wieskamp	10 – Tied	7 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (560) Iowa City, IA
February 13, 2021 1:30 p.m., FOX	No. 15	at Michigan State	W 88–58^[28]	15–6 (9–5)	21 – Wieskamp	11 – Nunge	6 – Nunge	Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI
February 18, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 11	at No. 21 Wisconsin	W 77–62^[29]	16–6 (10–5)	30 – Garza	12 – Murray	5 – Bohannon	Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI
February 21, 2021 4:00 p.m., FS1	No. 11	Penn State	W 74–68^[30]	17–6 (11–5)	23 – Garza	11 – Tied	6 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (566) Iowa City, IA
February 25, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 9	at No. 3 Michigan	L 57–79^[31]	17–7 (11–6)	16 – Garza	8 – C. McCaffrey	2 – Fredrick	Crisler Center (83) Ann Arbor, MI
February 28, 2021 3:00 p.m., CBS	No. 9	at No. 4 Ohio State	W 73–57^[32]	18–7 (12–6)	24 – Garza	11 – Garza	7 – Toussaint	Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH
March 4, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN	No. 5	Nebraska	W 102–64^[33]	19–7 (13–6)	26 – Bohannon	8 – Garza	8 – C. McCaffery	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (549) Iowa City, IA
March 7, 2021 11:30 a.m., FOX	No. 5	No. 25 Wisconsin	W 77–73^[34]	20–7 (14–6)	21 – Garza	16 – Garza	8 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (582) Iowa City, IA
Big Ten tournament
March 12, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN	(3) No. 5	vs. (6) Wisconsin Quarterfinals	W 62–57^[35]	21–7	24 – Garza	9 – Garza	6 – McCaffery	Lucas Oil Stadium (7,735) Indianapolis, IN
March 13, 2021 2:30 p.m., CBS	(3) No. 5	vs. (2) No. 3 Illinois Semifinals/Rivalry	L 71–82^[36]	21–8	21 – Garza	12 – Garza	6 – Bohannon	Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000) Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021 5:25 p.m., TBS	(2 W) No. 8	vs. (15 W) Grand Canyon First Round	W 86–74^[37]	22–8	24 – Garza	9 – Wieskamp	5 – Wieskamp	Indiana Farmers Coliseum (986) Indianapolis, IN
March 22, 2021 11:10 a.m., CBS	(2 W) No. 8	vs. (7 W) Oregon Second Round	L 80–95^[38]	22–9	36 – Garza	9 – Garza	5 – Wieskamp	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0) Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time.

• Source: Schedule

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	5	3	3	3 (1)	4	10	5	5	4	7	8	15	11	9	5	5	8	Not released
Coaches	6 (1)	6^ (1)	3 (1)	3 (2)	5	11	7	8	4	7	8	16	14	12	8	6	8	13

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

1. "2020-21 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten Conference. March 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
2. Solari, Chris. "March Madness cancellation inevitable, unavoidable: 'Bigger than basketball'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
3. "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN". bigten.org. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
4. "Garza Is Consensus All-American". Maven. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
5. "Iowa's Garza declares for draft, keeps eligibility". ESPN.com. April 10, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
6. "Iowa's Luka Garza withdraws from NBA Draft, will return to Hawkeyes for senior season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
7. "NCAA: Men's, women's hoops can start Nov. 25". ESPN.com. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
8. "Garza, McCaffery Help No. 5 Iowa Rout NC Central In Opener". Associated Press. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
9. "Nearly perfect Garza scores 41, No. 5 Iowa routs Southern". Associated Press. November 27, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
10. "Garza, Nunge Lead No. 3 Iowa Past Western Illinois, 99-58". Associated Press. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
11. "Bohannon scores 24, leads No. 3 Iowa past No. 16 UNC 93-80". Associated Press. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
12. "Garza scores 34 in 17 minutes, No. 3 Iowa thumps Iowa State". Associated Press. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
13. "Garza Scores 23, No. 3 Iowa Routs Northern Illinois 106-53". Associated Press. December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
14. "Suggs Leads Top-Ranked Gonzaga Over No. 3 Iowa 99-88". Associated Press. December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
15. "Garza Scores 22 Points, No. 4 Iowa Beats Purdue 70-55". Associated Press. December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
16. "Minnesota Beats No. 4 Iowa 102-95 On Johnson's 3-Point Spree". Associated Press. December 25, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
17. "No. 10 Iowa Beats No. 16 Northwestern 87-72 In Big Ten Game". Associated Press. December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
18. "No. 10 Iowa Wins 77-75 As Free Throws Cost No. 14 Rutgers". Associated Press. January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
19. "Garza scores 24 to help No. 5 Iowa coast past Maryland 89-67". Associated Press. January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
20. "Garza scores 33, No. 5 Iowa beats No. 16 Minnesota 86-71". Associated Press. January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
21. "Garza scores 17, No. 5 Iowa routs Northwestern 96-73". Associated Press. January 17, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
22. "Indiana shuts down No. 4 Iowa for 81-69 road upset". Associated Press. January 21, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
23. "Dosunmu, Frazier lead No. 19 Illinois over No. 7 Iowa 80-75". Associated Press. January 29, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
24. "Garza reaches 2,000 points as Iowa tops Michigan State 84-78". Associated Press. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
25. "Balanced Ohio State rallies past Iowa in Top-10 matchup". Associated Press. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
26. "Franklin's late shot sends Indiana past No. 8 Iowa 67-65". Associated Press. February 7, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
27. "Wieskamp Leads No. 15 Iowa To 79-66 Win Over No. 25 Rutgers". Associated Press. February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
28. "Wieskamp-Led No. 15 Iowa Routs Michigan State 88-58". Associated Press. February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
29. "Garza, Wieskamp help No. 11 Iowa beat No. 21 Wisconsin 77-62". Associated Press. February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
30. "Garza Breaks Iowa Scoring Mark, No. 11 Hawkeyes Beat Penn St". Associated Press. February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
31. "Dickinson Impresses As No. 3 Michigan Routs No. 9 Iowa 79-57". Associated Press. February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
32. "Garza, Weiskamp lead No. 9 Iowa over No. 4 Ohio State 73-57". Associated Press. February 28, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
33. "Bohannon, No. 5 Iowa Run Away From Nebraska 102-64". Associated Press. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
34. "Garza gets 21 points, No. 5 Iowa tops No. 25 Wisconsin 77-73". Associated Press. March 7, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
35. "Garza Leads No. 5 Iowa Past Wisconsin In Big Ten Tourney". Associated Press. March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
36. "No. 3 Illinois Gets Past No. 5 Iowa, Into Big Ten Title Game". Associated Press. March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
37. "Sharp-shooting Iowa gets 24 from Garza to beat Grand Canyon". Associated Press. March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
38. "Not Rusty: Oregon Soars Past Iowa 95-80 Into Sweet 16". Associated Press. March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.